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Our Genealogy Helper

Introduction ...

We have a couple of goals for our Gazetteer:

  • That it be a tool which helps us with planning our trips.
  • We're trying to shape our Gazetteer as a tool to help us understand the community in which our ancestors lived, the community that was part of their daily lives.
  • On our trips, we try to visit those places where our ancestors left their footprints.

By learning about Murray (and the surrounding area) during the time that our ancestors lived, we hope to have a better understanding of both their community and its relationship to their lifes. We hope that this tool helps to give us an insight into their world.

As we add data and organize our Gazetteer to help with our family research, we will be adding to this our Genealogical Helper for Murray. While we don't have information that is specific to any given person or family, we intend to expand our understanding about where and how people lived.

Neighboring Counties ...

When searching for family records, we have frequently made the mistake of not checking the neighboring counties.

For example, we have great-grandparents who lived in the southwest corner of their home county. During their lives, most hospitals and doctors were in the next county to the west. Almost all of the nearby churches and cemeteries were in the county to the south.

So when searching for records, we had our best success by looking in neighboring counties instead of the county in which they lived:  their home county contained property and probate records; the county to the west contained birth and death records; the county to the south contained their burial records. If we hadn't included the neighboring counties, we would have missed many valuable sources of information.

If you're in a similar situation, we hope that the following information helps.

Murray is located in Lexington County.

To see how the shape of South Carolina's counties have changed over time, we recommend the Atlas of Historical County Boundaries.

The following counties adjoin and form the boundaries of Lexington County: Aiken, Calhoun, Newberry, Orangeburg, Richland & Saluda.

Below are the counties that are near Murray. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Murray:

  • Lexington County     (The home county of Murray)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Murray, with the one closest to Murray listed first.
    • Clubhouse Crossroads
      (Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clubhouse Crossroads
      • Clubhouse Crossroads is located in Lexington County
    • Summit
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Summit have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Summit
      • Summit is located in Lexington County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 486 people
    • Gilbert
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
    • Fredonia
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Fredonia. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fredonia
      • Fredonia is located in Lexington County
    • Lake Village
      (5 miles [8 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Lake Village have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lake Village
      • Lake Village is located in Lexington County
    • Leesville
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Ella
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Ella. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ella
      • Ella is located in Lexington County
    • Batesburg - Leesville
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Batesburg - Leesville have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Batesburg - Leesville
      • Batesburg - Leesville is located in Lexington County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 5,402 people
    • Batesburg
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
    • Lexington
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
    • Red Bank
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Red Bank have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Red Bank
      • Red Bank is located in Lexington County
    • Oak Grove
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Oak Grove have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oak Grove
      • Oak Grove is located in Lexington County
    • Chapin
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chapin
      • Chapin is located in Lexington County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,664 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Chapin <2>
  • Aiken County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Murray, with the one closest to Murray listed first.
    • Monetta
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
    • Seivern
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Seivern
      • Seivern is located in Aiken County
    • Camp Rawls
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Camp Rawls
      • Camp Rawls is located in Aiken County
    • Wagener
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
    • Perry
      (23 miles [37 km] to the south)
    • Kitchings Mill
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Kitchings Mill. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kitchings Mill
      • Kitchings Mill is located in Aiken County
      • Kitchings Mill has also been known as:
      • Kinchens Mill
    • Eureka
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Eureka. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Eureka
      • Eureka is located in Aiken County
    • Salley
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
    • Nicholson Village
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Nicholson Village have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nicholson Village
      • Nicholson Village is located in Aiken County
  • Edgefield County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Murray, with the one closest to Murray listed first.
    • Johnston
      (23 miles [37 km] to the west)
    • Trenton
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
  • Fairfield County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Murray, with the one closest to Murray listed first.
    • Jenkinsville
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
    • Rock Hill
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rock Hill
      • Rock Hill is located in Fairfield County
    • Monticello
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Monticello
      • Monticello is located in Fairfield County
    • Rion
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
  • Lancaster County
  • Newberry County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Murray, with the one closest to Murray listed first.
    • Little Mountain
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
    • Slighs
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Slighs
      • Slighs is located in Newberry County
    • Prosperity
      (18 miles [29 km] to the north)
    • Peak
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Peak
      • Peak is located in Newberry County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 65 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Peak <2>
    • Pomaria
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
    • Union
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Union
      • Union is located in Newberry County
    • Silverstreet
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
    • Sondleys ‑ Historic
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Sondleys have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sondleys
      • Sondleys is located in Newberry County
    • Helena
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Helena. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Helena
      • Helena is located in Newberry County
    • Newberry
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
    • Old Town Ferry
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Old Town Ferry have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Old Town Ferry
      • Old Town Ferry is located in Newberry County
    • Smyrna
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
    • Chappells
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
  • Orangeburg County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Murray, with the one closest to Murray listed first.
    • Woodford
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Woodford. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Woodford
      • Woodford is located in Orangeburg County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 169 people
    • North
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North
      • North is located in Orangeburg County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 699 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for North <2>
  • Richland County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Murray, with the one closest to Murray listed first.
    • Lake Murray of Richland
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northeast)
    • Ballentine
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)
    • White Rock
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)
    • Dutch Village
      (18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Dutch Village have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dutch Village
      • Dutch Village is located in Richland County
    • Saint Andrews
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Saint Andrews have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Saint Andrews
      • Saint Andrews is located in Richland County
    • Columbia
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
    • Hollywood
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hollywood
      • Hollywood is located in Richland County
    • Arthurtown
      (23 miles [37 km] to the east)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Arthurtown
      • Arthurtown is located in Richland County
    • Belmont
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
    • Forest Acres
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Forest Acres
      • Forest Acres is located in Richland County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 10,269 people
    • Valencia Heights
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Valencia Heights have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Valencia Heights
      • Valencia Heights is located in Richland County
    • Brickyard Village
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Brickyard Village have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brickyard Village
      • Brickyard Village is located in Richland County
    • Arcadia Lakes
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Arcadia Lakes have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Arcadia Lakes
      • Arcadia Lakes is located in Richland County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 874 people
  • Saluda County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Murray, with the one closest to Murray listed first.
    • Ridge Spring
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)
    • Ward
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)
    • Hickory Grove
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hickory Grove
      • Hickory Grove is located in Saluda County
    • Saluda
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)

For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Murray, see our County-by-County Page for Murray.

Cemeteries Near Murray ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Murray.

This is a new section and is likely to have errors. If you find an error, such as a missing cemetery or we have the wrong name, please let us know. If you know of them, we would also appreciate learning about previous or alternate names.

If you need information about a burial or interment, photos, transcripts, how to contact the cemetery or local authorities, please visit our selection of Genealogy Websites (see below).

If not found below, our Cemetery List for Murray covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.

The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Murray, with the one closest to Murray listed first.

  • St. James Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the St. James Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the St. James Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • First Baptist Church Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
  • Shiloh Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Shiloh Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Shiloh Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Lightner - Christian Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Lightner - Christian Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Lightner - Christian Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Old Salem Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Old Salem Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Old Salem Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Sease Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Sease Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Sease Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Derrick Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Derrick Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Derrick Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Banks Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Banks Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Banks Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Risinger Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the west)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Risinger Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Risinger Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Hendrix Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the north)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Hendrix Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Hendrix Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • St. James Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the St. James Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the St. James Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Warren Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Warren Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Warren Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Continue List   (333 more) ...
    • Banks Cemetery
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Banks Cemetery
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Banks Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Boatwright Cemetery
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Boatwright Cemetery
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Boatwright Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Bethlehem Cemetery
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Bethlehem Cemetery
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Bethlehem Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.

Nearby Communities in 1895 ...

We've built the following list with information that came from an Atlas published by Rand McNally in 1895. The Atlas had details such as the population of the community (which appears to have come from the 1890 Census) and whether there was a post office and/or railroad service available. We also indicate if the community no longer exists and is now historic.<5>

While we didn't find Murray in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Murray.

These communities are listed based on their distance from Murray, with the one closest to Murray listed first.

  • Summit
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Summit have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Summit
    • Summit is located in Lexington County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 486 people
  • Fredonia
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
    • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Fredonia. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fredonia
    • Fredonia is located in Lexington County
  • Leesville
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
  • Ella
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
    • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Ella. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ella
    • Ella is located in Lexington County
  • Batesburg
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
  • Samaria
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Samaria have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Samaria
    • Samaria is located in Lexington County
  • Monetta
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
  • Spring Hill
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Spring Hill have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Spring Hill
    • Spring Hill is located in Lexington County
  • Ridge Spring
    (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)
  • Ballentine
    (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)
  • White Rock
    (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)
  • Chapin
    (15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chapin
    • Chapin is located in Lexington County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,664 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Chapin <2>
  • Continue List   (14 more) ...
    • Seivern
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Seivern
      • Seivern is located in Aiken County
    • Arthur
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Arthur. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Arthur
      • Arthur is located in Lexington County
    • Leaphart
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Leaphart have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Leaphart
      • Leaphart is located in Lexington County

We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Murray. See our List of 1890's Communities around Murray.

Newspapers Published in Murray ...

An ongoing effort between the Library of Congress and the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) has resulted in the National Digital Newspaper Program (NDNP).

To share their results, the partnership has created the Chronicling America website. The goal of this partnership is to assemble a database about the current and historic newspapers of the United States. This includes a growing collection of scanned images from selected papers. All of it available to the public on their website.

Using information that we've taken from the Chronicling America website, we've identified 36 newspapers that have been published in the area around Murray.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Murray, there are papers which were published within 16 miles [25.7 km]<6>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Murray.

Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...

When we do our genealogical research, we begin with the websites from Cyndi's List, FamilySearch and Genealogy Trails. These professional and volunteer websites offer the information directly or else point to where you can find it. Their information is open to everyone.

To help you get started, the following links will take you to the pages that are relevant to Murray:

Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for Murray. If you can help, please contact us through our Feedback Page.

The official website for Lexington County: www.lex-co.com/

The official website for State of South Carolina: https://sc.gov/

Footnotes ...

<1>The location has been supplied by the Geographic Names Information System - which is maintained by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS). While these values should be definitive, we found that accuracy can vary and you should double-check the location if accuracy is required.
<2>While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program.
<3>An 'estimated' location is one where we have been given GPS coordinates, but are unable to verify the accuracy of those coordinates. That said, we have some confidence that we have placed the marker near the actual location. A typical reason for being unable to verify a location is that it might be on private property or maybe historic and gone without an obvious trace.
<4>The Find-a-Grave website is an excellent research tool with information about a cemetery's location and interments. They also offer a forum for their members which can provide additional help. More information about Find-a-Grave can be found on their website: findagrave.com.
<5>We use the term 'Historic' broadly and it generally means that the community no longer exists. However, it can also mean that the community might still exist, but was significantly larger or had a more 'official' existence in the past than it does now. Unfortunately our sources of data have proven to be unreliable. If you can provide us with more specific information about Murray, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.
<6>Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'straight-line' distance. A straight line distance ignores obstructions like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line from Point A (ie- Murray) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Murray. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 33.9535, Longitude: -81.4168       In this case, the coordinates for Murray have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS).




 

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This page was last modified/updated: 22 Apr 2025